# How often do you sip, draw, etc.?



## GregNJ (Sep 24, 2009)

I did a bunch of searches, but couldn't find anything. Perhaps there's another term I should be searching for, that I'm not familiar with. So I apologize ahead of time if this has been asked and answered a thousand times.

How often do you sip/draw on your pipe? 

I suspect this is done more by feel, than by using some hard and fast rule about doing so every 10, 20 or 30 seconds. However, any rules of thumb that could help be strive towards a balance between not overheating my pipe and not needing to relight constantly, would be greatly appreciated.

As always, thanks in advance.

Greg


----------



## okstcowboy (Sep 28, 2009)

GregNJ said:


> I did a bunch of searches, but couldn't find anything. Perhaps there's another term I should be searching for, that I'm not familiar with. So I apologize ahead of time if this has been asked and answered a thousand times.
> 
> How often do you sip/draw on your pipe?
> 
> ...


I too have been trying to find an answer to your question with no result after searching


----------



## rehbas21 (Aug 8, 2007)

Never really thought about it but I do consider myself a quick smoker. Only thing I really try to do is smoke to achieve a nice dry smoke. If I had to guess I would say I sip on my pipe every 15 seconds or so. Were not talking about massive puffs here just small sips to pull in a small amount of smoke to keep that nice flavor on the palate. Also this changes based on what I am smoking I primarily smoke English blends heavy in the latakia department, along with blends like Butternut Burley, Trout Stream, Lanes 1q, Mellow Moonshine....guess I could have just said aromatics :bounce: When smoking these blends I would say my puffing increases somewhat but I tend to smoke these in some type of cob because I feel this allows the increased smoking rate while still providing me with a cool dry smoke. Another influencing factor would have to be the moisture content in the tobacco if the tobacco is more moist this will slow down the puffing somewhat. Again I am still new to the pipe smoking world so take any information with a grain of salt as I am still learning new things each and everyday.


----------



## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Where I learned to smoke at The Professor's Pipe Smoking Page recommended once every 20 seconds or so. That's how I started out. Now I pretty much hold the pipe in my mouth or clench it in my teeth, drawing softly on the pipe, breathe two or three breaths through my nose, then blow out the smoke, with maybe a little push back through the pipe when I exhale during the breathing. So, pretty much constantly with little 5 or 10 second breaks every second or third puff. Its not really a straight pattern thing though. If the pipe begins to heat up or I feel that its going to heat up, I draw softer puffs or just quick short puffs or push air or smoke back through the pipe. Focus on the tobacco temperature rather than the temperature of the pipe. If the tobacco starts to heat up, the pipe is very soon to follow suit.


----------



## frenchy12 (Nov 11, 2008)

yeah I never really think about it. Usually to get the smoke going I start off drawing often...maybe every 10 seconds or so but after that I go maybeevery 30-45 seconds. Really I go whenever I want more of the flavor haha. It's hard to go a long time without drawing because my mouth starts watering


----------



## MarkC (Jul 4, 2009)

I have no idea; I don't pay any attention to it unless the bowl starts to heat up. However, I'm still pretty new at this, so that is a concern still. At least I'm finally at the point where I don't have to put the pipe down to cool off, I just have to consciously back off now and then.


----------



## Requiem (Dec 6, 2008)

Find your own pace and don't worry too much about it.
Just puff on and stay aware of how your puff cadence influences the flavour (and temperature/dryness) of your tobacco.

One word: "enjoy"


----------



## GregNJ (Sep 24, 2009)

Requiem said:


> Find your own pace and don't worry too much about it. Just puff on and stay aware of how your puff cadence influences the flavour (and temperature/dryness) of your tobacco. One word: "enjoy"


Completely agreed. As I noted, I fully expect that as I grow more comfortable and experienced, I'll hopefully find a natural cadence. However, given I'm at bowl 5 or 6, I'm just looking for some rough guidelines, in hopes of discovering that natural cadence sooner rather than later.

Cheers.

Greg


----------



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

GregNJ said:


> ...I suspect this is done more by feel, than by using some hard and fast rule


You nailed it. Your experience with individual pipes, pipe filling and tobacco characteristics will gel and you'll find puffing sweet-spots. When I find the groove, small sips keep my pipe burning without going out but creates adequate, if not copious, smoke with a few long puffs. When the wood feels OK then big puffs are in order; when hotness arises or threatens it's back to periodic small sips. This, for me, is an ebb-and-flow thing that is independent of time. And, for me, independence from time is the big attraction of pipe and cigar smoking.

Coffee roasting and coffee drinking is often time related and that's OK. But not pipes or cigars.


----------

